From the Asbury Park Press:
Main St. makeover shifts to low gear
BELMAR — A $500 million plan to raze and rebuild much of the downtown will take longer than the 10 years to complete that borough officials had previously predicted, said Mayor Kenneth E. Pringle.
But outside of Pringle, there seem to be few people in Belmar today who believe his vision of a neo-Victorian seaport village — on the scale once envisioned — will come to fruition.
Blaming a poor real estate market, the subprime mortgage fiasco and general economic stagnation throughout the United States, Pringle concedes that the borough has suffered setbacks in its ambitious plans.
“Stagnation to the point where no one wants to make the first move, because they’re not sure the others will invest in their properties,” Pringle said.
…
“We are a sought-after community to live in and we’re going to be a sought-after community to develop in once the market moves,” Pringle said.
Grim- Per your recommendation..I’m
reading “Secrets of the Temple” by Wm. Greider. It is already clear that I must go back and read Milton Friedman…
“As a libertarian conservative, Friedman objected fundamentally to nearly any form of government intrusion in the natural functioning of the private marketplace. ”
[sic]
“The fundamental source of government
influence over the private economy was its control of money – the monetary policy made by the Federal Reserve. The Fed’s manipulation of the money supply, Friedman added, was consistently destabilizing and damaging.”
…Didn’t know Volcker was from Teaneck, New Jersey. (from pg. 69)
“Back in Teaneck, New Jersey, where he grew up, Volcker was known as “Little Buddy.” His high-school yearbook noted that he “has an incredible knowledge of politics” and predicted that someday he might rise as high as town manager of Teaneck. Volcker’s father was city manager of the Teaneck municipal government for 20 years – an important clue to how Volcker saw himself.”
“A city manager is supposed to see things in a dispassionate way, to look down the road and propose long-term solutions and continually battle with those who are only pushing their own short-term self-interests.”
No wonder I liked that guy!
Since I’m in and out of Belmar a fair amount I thought I’d add my 2 cents.
The people building those $2M+ spec houses along Ocean Ave. can’t be happy about this.
In eastern Monmouth County alone there are three other towns (Asbury Park, Neptune, Long Branch) w/ major redevelopment plans on the board. (Long Branch has done a lot, but still has a long way to go).
As I’ve said before, AP, as usual, missed the boat, work there has slowed to a crawl and it seems very likely there will be empty unfinished buildings there once again.
Belmar is not nearly as down as AP and the Neptune section being targeted so it can and likely will hold it’s own, but its going to fall way short of its Spring Lake North goal.